1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recovery of immediately reusable polymers and elastomers in a form having characteristics of virgin material from recycled scrap, in a granular form particularly suitable for conveying.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Synthetic polymeric and elastomeric resins are widely utilized for fabricating packaging and packing products. When objects and materials contained in such products are utilized, the packaging and packing products are discarded. If these products are merely disposed in landfills, they are lost for subsequent recovery of the constituent material. Furthermore, disposal in landfills is objectionable since such products, as is typical with synthetic resins generally, are of low density and occupy inordinate volume within a landfill.
To achieve recovery of the constituent materials and to avoid rapid filling of available landfill facilities, it is preferred to recycle the material. However, mere comminution of recovered synthetic resin or plastic scrap does not result in a product suitable for immediate reuse. Comminuted waste requires blending with sixty to eighty percent virgin resin to assure that the resultant raw material will be satisfactory. This process produces acceptable results, but relies heavily upon a source of virgin material. No good process has heretofore been developed which avoids reliance upon virgin material.
One of the problems that attends reclamation of synthetic resins is that even should the recovered material be of suitable constituency from a chemical standpoint, its physical configuration may not be readily suitable for transport and conveyance. Illustratively, flakes, strips, and other particle configurations are prone to build up in tubular conduits, particularly where diameters change, and in other mechanical transporting systems. A build up may occur, obstructing the conduit and bringing a recovery process to a halt.
Recovery or separation of plastics from waste has relied upon many methods. Recycling of plastic films is featured in U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,244, issued to J. Douglas Brooks et al. on Jul. 30, 1996. Brooks et al. roll or extrude recovered materials in the form of flakes into pellets. By contrast, the present invention precipitates recovered material in web form, rolls the web in to a cylinder, and fuses the cylinder into a solid mass, prior to grinding the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,662, issued to Fernando Stroppiana on Jan. 18, 1994, describes a process in which sheets are formed by extrusion and subsequently reduced to granules and fibers by shaving. By contrast, in the present invention, sheets are formed by precipitation on a heated belt. The sheets are fused into a solid mass, prior to grinding the same.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.